- Joined
- May 20, 2009
- Messages
- 648
Howdy,
I put on a Cowboy Action Shooting match last weekend (I'm the Match Director and stage writer).
Each year, on one of the stages we had a smoke bomb and cannon fuse to light. It's very windy at the range and last year, alot of people had trouble using matches to light the fuses.
This year, I came up with the idea to make a "torch" with a stick, alligator clip, and a PJ cotton ball.
I purchased a bunch of 1/4" diameter x 3" long firesteels and strikers (one for each shooter to keep) from goinggear. By the way, they did an excellent job of getting such a large order to me in time for the match-Thanks GoingGear!!:thumbup::thumbup:. I super glued a red 1/4" diameter vacuum cap on the end of each one to give it an easier gripping surface.
I explained and demonstrated how to use them and had everyone practice before starting the stage. As a backup, they could use matches to light the torch if they just could get it to light. Out of 47 shooters (men/women/old/young) only 2 resorted to matches! The strong winds that afternoon were also no problem for the torch, it worked like a charm! Everyone felt like they had accomplished something. Only a small handfull had ever used a firesteel before this.
After the match, some of the kids grabbed a box of smoke bombs, the jar of cotton balls, a firesteel & torch, and proceeded to light them in the gravel. One at a time. It was great.
I put on a Cowboy Action Shooting match last weekend (I'm the Match Director and stage writer).
Each year, on one of the stages we had a smoke bomb and cannon fuse to light. It's very windy at the range and last year, alot of people had trouble using matches to light the fuses.
This year, I came up with the idea to make a "torch" with a stick, alligator clip, and a PJ cotton ball.
I purchased a bunch of 1/4" diameter x 3" long firesteels and strikers (one for each shooter to keep) from goinggear. By the way, they did an excellent job of getting such a large order to me in time for the match-Thanks GoingGear!!:thumbup::thumbup:. I super glued a red 1/4" diameter vacuum cap on the end of each one to give it an easier gripping surface.
I explained and demonstrated how to use them and had everyone practice before starting the stage. As a backup, they could use matches to light the torch if they just could get it to light. Out of 47 shooters (men/women/old/young) only 2 resorted to matches! The strong winds that afternoon were also no problem for the torch, it worked like a charm! Everyone felt like they had accomplished something. Only a small handfull had ever used a firesteel before this.
After the match, some of the kids grabbed a box of smoke bombs, the jar of cotton balls, a firesteel & torch, and proceeded to light them in the gravel. One at a time. It was great.
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